False Alarm on Commerce Dept Cyber Attack Costs Almost $3 Million
The Commerce Department says that the cyber attack on its job-development bureau was so vicious that the agency’s entire computer network had been at risk, The Washington Postreports.
Federal officials were so concerned that the virus could spread to economically sensitive information that 200 employees spent months without email or access to Internet servers and databases. BlackBerrys were left along, and there was no Internet communication with regional offices. Officials spent nearly $3 million to destroy computers, hire consultants and security temporary networks before building a new operating network from the ground up.